post

Quick Hits: Our crew predicts the second round

The story goes, one day on a long ride to a playoff game at Thiel (which tells you how long ago this happened), Pat and Keith decided to pass the time by guessing not just the winner of each second-round playoff game, but the score. And there was born the expectations game: Do we expect a close game? A high-scoring game? A blowout? Does everyone agree on who will win? Those are the factors worth looking at.

Keith McMillan, Ryan Tipps, Pat Coleman, Adam Turer, Frank Rossi and Greg Thomas each take their guesses at scores for each first-round game. Plus, we have Logan Hansen’s odds to advance.

— Pat Coleman (d3photography.com photo)

Mary Hardin-Baylor bracket
Keith’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 45, Berry 14
Ryan’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 34, Berry 14
Pat’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 35, Berry 6
Adam’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 52, Berry 17
Frank’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 40, Berry 10
Greg’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 40, Berry 7
Hansen odds to advance: Mary Hardin-Baylor, 99%
Consensus:
Varying levels of high scores to low scores.
Keith’s take: St. John’s 49, Whitworth 21
Ryan’s take: St. John’s 38, Whitworth 13
Pat’s take: St. John’s 45, Whitworth 17
Adam’s take: St. John’s 38, Whitworth 13
Frank’s take: St. John’s 27, Whitworth 14
Greg’s take: St. John’s 49, Whitworth 21
Hansen odds to advance: St. John’s, 93%
Consensus:
St. John’s offense will be in good shape.

 

UW-Whitewater bracket
Keith’s take: UW-Whitewater 31, St. Norbert 3
Ryan’s take: UW-Whitewater 45, St. Norbert 7
Pat’s take: UW-Whitewater 42, St. Norbert 9
Adam’s take: UW-Whitewater 40, St. Norbert 20
Frank’s take: UW-Whitewater 41, St. Norbert 13
Greg’s take: UW-Whitewater 31, St. Norbert 0
Hansen odds to advance: UW-Whitewater, 96%
Consensus:
One upset is all the Green Knights get.
Keith’s take: Bethel 25, North Central 22
Ryan’s take: North Central 27, Bethel 24
Pat’s take: North Central 24, Bethel 16
Adam’s take: North Central 32, Bethel 29
Frank’s take: Bethel 27, North Central 24
Greg’s take: Bethel 28, North Central 24
Hansen odds to advance: North Central, 63%
Consensus:
Nobody really has any idea who will win this one.

 

Mount Union bracket
Keith’s take: Mount Union 38, Centre 17
Ryan’s take: Mount Union 38, Centre 20
Pat’s take: Mount Union 38, Centre 10
Adam’s take: Mount Union 45, Centre 24
Frank’s take: Mount Union 47, Centre 17
Greg’s take: Mount Union 45, Centre 10
Hansen odds to advance: Mount Union, 96%
Consensus:
The consensus matches the odds.
Keith’s take: Muhlenberg 17, Randolph-Macon 16
Ryan’s take: Muhlenberg 28, Randolph-Macon 23
Pat’s take: Randolph-Macon 17, Muhlenberg 16
Adam’s take: Muhlenberg 24, Randolph-Macon 21
Frank’s take: Muhlenberg 31, Randolph-Macon 20
Greg’s take: Muhlenberg 27, Randolph-Macon 21
Hansen odds to advance: Muhlenberg, 68%
Consensus:
A non-unanimous pick of Muhlenberg in a low-scoring, close game.

 

Brockport bracket
Keith’s take: Brockport 35, RPI 21
Ryan’s take: Brockport 21, RPI 13
Pat’s take: Brockport 28, RPI 16
Adam’s take: Brockport 31, RPI 10
Frank’s take: Brockport 37, RPI 17
Greg’s take: Brockport 35, RPI 17
Hansen odds to advance: Brockport, 95%
Consensus:
 Closer than last week.
Keith’s take: Frostburg St. 42, Johns Hopkins 28
Ryan’s take: Johns Hopkins 42, Frostburg St. 38
Pat’s take: Johns Hopkins 31, Frostburg St. 30
Adam’s take: Frostburg St. 48, JHU 45 (OT)
Frank’s take: Frostburg St. 17, Johns Hopkins 14
Greg’s take: Frostburg St. 38, Johns Hopkins 35
Hansen odds to advance: Johns Hopkins, 58%
Consensus:
All over the map — high scoring, low scoring, close game, two-touchdown game.

We invite you to add your predictions in the comments below, or tweet at us at @D3Keith, @NewsTipps and @d3football. Download the Around the Nation podcast on Mondays, where Pat and Keith review the picks and the highlights from the weekend’s playoff games.

post

Around the Nation Podcast 226: Four hours with eight games

Sixteen teams play eight games over a course of four hours on Saturday, in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. And we should be in line for some great games, now that we’ve gotten through the first round.

Exactly how good? Pat ranked all eight games from worst to best, with one particular matchup getting particularly high marks. In addition, we talked with Rod Sandberg, coach of Whitworth, whose team hasn’t been to the second round in a while, about the challenges the Pirates face not only with their St. John’s opponent as well as traveling halfway across the country. We also chat with Johns Hopkins coach Jim Margraff about his team’s success in bouncing back from an early-season loss and heading to Frostburg State this weekend.

Pat, Keith, Adam Turer and Frank Rossi preview all eight games and get you ready for our noon kickoffs in our Game Day podcast for Week 13. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation between Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan and guests covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.
Full episode:

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Link: Our full NCAA playoff coverage
Mentioned in the podcast

Photo: Eric Hoy needs several John Carroll defenders to bring him down. (Photo by Dan Poel, Ohiosi.com)

Theme music: DJmentos.

post

Around the Nation Podcast 225: Just good enough

Keith McMillan pleaded for a first round of the playoffs that didn’t stink. And he got it, if nothing else, because his alma mater, Randolph-Macon, upset John Carroll.

Now, your mileage may have varied. With a margin of victory of nearly 34 points on average, these were not great games. With a near quadruple monkey stomp and several other games that looked like the usual top seed vs. No. 8 seed contests, there weren’t many worth watching for a neutral Division III fan. Unless, of course, you hooked into the Randolph-Macon win, or St. Norbert’s upset of Trine, or Muhlenberg’s dramatic finish at Delaware Valley.

Hear highlights from Saturday, postgame commentary from teams advancing to the Round of 16, and more in the D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast.

The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation between Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan and guests covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.
Full episode:

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Link: Our full NCAA playoff coverage
Mentioned in the podcast: Defense lights UW-Whitewater’s fire, feature by Joe Sager

Photo: Eric Hoy needs several John Carroll defenders to bring him down. (John Carroll athletics photo)

Theme music: DJmentos.